Under the Skin & Into the Veins
by AutumnEnnui
Summary: One workaholic detective that looks perfect on paper. But being perfect on paper isn't enough anymore. One rule-bending detective who plays fast & loose. Too bad he's running as far as he can from his past. Fighting crime in San Francisco gives them common ground, but falling in love was never the plan. (Merthur mainly. Way more detail inside.)


_*Author's Note: It has been years since I have posted here and they have changed a lot of the rules and formatting. So I am going to give you all of the same title, summary, tags, characters, beginning notes, and end acknowledgement notes I wrote up on Ao3 within each chapter to save me from insanity and to give you lovely people what you deserve. Thank you for your patience._

 **Title: Under the Skin & Into the Veins (Nothing Worth Having Ever Comes Easy, Darling)**

 **Author:** AutumnEnnui (known in the past as "WickedGame"  & "WickedGameFF")

* * *

 **Full Story Summary:** Yin  & Yang. Moonshine & Sunlight.

One workaholic, by-the-books detective from a family steeped in law enforcement that looks perfect on paper: precise, professional. But being perfect on paper isn't enough, and now his career is on the line.

One rule-bending detective who plays fast and loose, but investigates with a proficiency and intuition that is worthy of envy. It's too bad he's running from the sort of past that one really shouldn't run from.

Street thugs, the homeless, high-speed chases, and a series of homosexual hate crimes lets these two flawed humans find some common ground. Each case reveals something new and admirable about each detective and soon they realize they work better together than they ever would apart.

Temptation. Faith. Adrenaline. Falling in love. Is it inconvenient? Hell yes. It is entirely unprofessional? Undoubtedly so. Neither Merlin nor Arthur know how to stop what's inexorable happening between them, or even if they want it to stop.

Nothing worth having comes easy.

* * *

 **Full Character Cast (subject to change):** Merlin Emrys (his surname for the purpose of this fic), Arthur Pendragon, Morgana Le Fay, Gwen, Lancelot (as Lance), Hunith, Gaius, Will, Elyan, Gwaine, Leon, Elena, Mithian, Freya ... and the list could or could not grow.

* * *

 **Beginning Notes:** _This is a WIP, and it's going to be a long one. I am finishing up my spring semester as I start this story, and hope to finish it by my birthday in August. If I get it done sooner, I'm going to reward myself with Cherry Garcia. I cannot guarantee precise updates. I cannot say that every chapter will be a certain length. I tend to write as my heart dictates, and she's a very harsh mistress._

 _That being said, this is the first time I've written a Merlin fanfic I felt like posting. There are some half-assed WIPs sitting in my folder, but they need a lot of work._

 _This has not been beta read because I do not have a beta. If you excel at copy editing and don't mind going through content for errors, please let me know._

 _Acknowledgements in the end notes._

* * *

 **Prologue: Never Again is What You Swore the Time Before**

 _Things could be so different now_

 _It used to be so civilized_

 _You will always wonder how_

 _It could have been if you'd only lied_

 _It's too late to change events_

 _It's time to face the consequence_

 _For delivering the proof_

 _In the policy of truth_

 _Never again_

 _Is what you swore_

 _The time before_

* * *

Detective Arthur Pendragon took a sip of coffee and looked at the desk across from him for what must have been the tenth time in the last thirty minutes. He didn't know why, exactly, since the desk was empty and had been for a week now. His last partner had stuck around for maybe four months before asking for a transfer. The one before that had lasted five months. The one before that? Six months. Even Arthur, pigheaded though he was, saw there was a definite pattern: he couldn't keep a partner more than six months, and it had been that way ever since he had been promoted to Detective. When his superiors looked down at his file and back up at him the only thing he has ever been able to tell them is that it isn't him: it's them. His record is blemish-free. He's never been investigated by Internal Affairs and he doesn't have a single complaint from a civilian. On paper, at least, he's a model detective. Truthfully, he know the blame lies in his workaholic tendencies, his egocentric personality, his inability to let people get close, and the fact that he holds both himself and his partners to very high standards – but he'll never admit that to the men and women that are higher in rank than he is. Hell, he won't even admit it to his own sister, even though he is of the thought that she knows exactly what has been going on anyway. She has that uncanny knack for knowing exactly what is wrong or right with Arthur, and it's been that way since they were children.

He's acknowledged this pattern can't continue. He's aware that being a model detective on paper is not the same as being a model detective in the field. Whispers and odd looks follow him as he passes through the halls of his precinct, day-by-day, constantly carrying one file or another under his arm. He's aware that he is constantly being looked at, weighed, measured, and likely be found wanting. Even his father's good name (may he rest in peace) won't save him if he runs another partner off in record time. Arthur hates change, but he knows something has to give if he wants to remain a detective much longer.

Arthur's red pen went tap-tap-tap on his desk, beating a staccato rhythm as he thought silently to himself. He only looked up from the case file he was not even bothering to pretend to read when someone cleared their throat behind him.

"Is it time already?" he sighed as the department psychologist pushed her glasses further up onto the bridge of her nose. Her suit looks smart, and her flats wore panda faces on them.

"I'm afraid so, Detective," she brusquely quipped as she turned. Her flats made hardly any noise on the tile floor as she headed back to her office, obviously expecting Arthur to follow. Because it's his job, he follows. He knows he'll hate every minute of it, but he goes just the same.

You can't simply be a model detective on paper.

Something has to give.

* * *

Stares are something Detective Merlin Emrys is used to being on the receiving end of, especially when he rolls into just about anywhere riding his custom superbike: neon green and black, with a helmet, gloves, and jacket to match. He tried not to remember how many traffic laws he'd violated while racing that stupid stock Harley on the way to his new precinct; but really, the jackass who assumed Merlin was just riding a simple crotch rocket had it coming.

That was how he was justifying it to himself, really. The fucker had it coming. And when Merlin had taken off from the light and hit 160 miles per hour before a quarter mile was even up, he had laughed maniacally inside of his helmet and smiled the rest of the way to the city that had become his new home in the past few weeks.

His apartment was small, but efficient. The bottom level had a garage, a small laundry space, and a storage closet. The upper level held the living quarters: one bedroom, one and a half bathrooms, a decent kitchen, a small eating area, and a small living room. His bedroom had a sliding glass door that led out onto a small balcony, and there were plenty of windows. Merlin loved natural light, so he kept his blinds open as much as he could to let the sunshine in. What he liked the most about it was that he had never lived in a place like it before. His mother's small home in the country had been one level with a scary, damp basement. His first place in New Orleans had been like a tiny dorm room. When he moved to Las Vegas, he had lived with some roommates in a large, suburban rental property. When he moved to Savannah, his apartment had been large but felt like a cave. But now he was here in the San Francisco Bay Area, and everything felt… open. Breezy. Bright. Cool. Even though he didn't live in San Francisco proper, he could feel the kinetic energy that ran through the entire region. The sky, the earth, and everything in between was humming constantly, and it made him smile larger than he'd been able to smile in quite a long time.

It actually only felt like it was a long time since Savannah. It had actually only been about six months. Merlin wished it were further away. He wished Savannah had never happened at all. Of course he had seen the Savannah Police Department's shrink. But, then again, he had been a convincing enough actor to get that shrink to clear him back to active duty. As soon as the ink on those papers was dry, Detective Merlin Emrys had asked to be transferred to one of the precincts in San Francisco.

He had explained to his superiors that he simply needed a change of scenery after what had happened. They didn't argue.

What he really needed was to run as far away as possible from everything Savannah now meant to him.

That was a long time ago: when home was a cave, humidity had constantly curled the ends of his hair, and blood had splattered all over his boots.

A change of scenery.

They didn't argue.

* * *

 **End of Chapter Acknowledgements:**

 _1\. The genesis for this fanfic came from me re-imagining the "Lethal Weapon" movies as the two male leads falling in love with one another._

 _2\. Merlin's (not shown as of yet) parkour abilities are inspired by what is probably my favorite Merlin fanfic ever, Neuroticnick's "ACAB", which can be found on Ao3 - /works/927699/chapters/1803841_

 _3\. Another loose inspiration for this fic is Adelagia's "Shadowplay", which can be found at - ._

 _4\. Merlin riding a custom superbike is a tribute to D, one of my very closest friends, who used to develop and race superbikes. The story in this prologue about racing a Harley while on a superbike is a true one: I was riding on the back of D's bike one afternoon and a Harley thought it was just a crotch rocket. We blew his ass out of the water. It was amazing and the closest I've ever felt to flying._

 _5\. I live in Sacramento, California, but (as the song says) my heart belongs in San Francisco. It is still my favorite city in the world. I believe having "boots on the ground" of where your story is set (if it exists) is instrumental to giving the story texture and depth it may otherwise be lacking._

 _6\. Arthur's red pen and the police psychologist's panda flats are both homages and dedications to the television show "Arrow"._

 _7\. Prologue title and lyrics snippet comes from Depeche Mode's "Policy of Truth"_

 _\- Check end notes after each chapter for more possible acknowledgements!_

 _\- When this story is finished, the very last chapter will be a very large list of songs, lyrics, and whatever else I used to influence my writing and characterizations._

 _\- I won't be offended if you don't review. I write mainly for myself, because when one constantly churns out academic paperwork one must supplement with something lighter and more fun._


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